1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to fluid dispensing equipment and, more particularly, but not by way of limitation, to methods and an apparatus for providing modular components in a beverage dispensing tower.
2. Description of the Related Art
Product dispensers in the beverage dispensing industry typically are hard plumbed, and have a life expectancy of approximately seven years. However, the product side of the product dispensing market changes rapidly, as food product manufacturers continuously create products aimed to capture a particular group of customers. Illustratively, beverage dispensing trends have moved from predominantly carbonated beverages to non-carbonated beverages, including waters, flavored waters, teas, juices, and the like. As such, retail account owners often find themselves with a product dispenser that is incapable of delivering newly popular products.
Problems arise when retail account owners desire to change their product availability. If the product dispenser is minimally upgradeable, it may not accommodate the newly desired product list. Some products may require particular hardware on the tower, but a single tower dispenser does not provide the flexibility to remove and replace a portion of the tower. The problems are compounded when the beverage dispenser must be removed from a dispensing location to be retrofit, thereby forcing the establishment to lose sales and customers while the product dispenser is being retrofit.
Accordingly, a product dispenser that is reconfigurable in the field would be beneficial to product dispenser owners, product consumers, as well as product dispenser manufacturers.